


We Thought It Was Mercy

by JustAWritist



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon Era, How Do I Tag, M/M, Mild Gore, Minor Character Death, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-05
Updated: 2015-10-05
Packaged: 2018-04-25 01:34:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4941604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAWritist/pseuds/JustAWritist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the war, they decided they wouldn't kill the titan shifters. They thought it was mercy, they thought they were doing them a favor, letting it end without unnecessary bloodshed...</p><p>But just because one person gives mercy, doesn't mean others will.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Thought It Was Mercy

**Author's Note:**

> So I had a weird idea after listening to a song today. I know a lot of people do v. sad fictions where Eren is killed off as the last titan to "end the war"... but I had a strange idea, what if he _wasn't_ killed? What if none of the titan shifters were killed? Would that be a happy ending?
> 
> But then I wondered, would the people accept that?
> 
> And thus this was born in the course of a half-hour writing spree. Enjoy!
> 
> Come talk to me:  
> goldie-the-cat.tumblr.com

The war was over, and as if that wasn’t unbelievable enough, they’d survived. They’d survived titans and death, betrayal and misguided loyalties… They’d survived. Nobody could believe it, but when Reiner and Bertholdt were pushed into a corner with no escape… Well, nobody wants to die. After that it was simply a matter of finishing the job. Soon enough, it was over.

A few things happened after that moment, the last thing Eren remembers is Hanji letting out a triumphant whoop as the last body of a rogue titan dissolved into heat and mist. Armin was leaning heavily on Mikasa, bloody but alive. Eren immediately turned to Levi, what should he do now. When he met the cold steely grey eyes of his superior, his now _ex_ -superior, he was given a nod and, for the first time, a small smile.

That was enough to make Eren collapse to his knees and sob, because he’d finally done it. He’d killed them all, and it was all over now. It was all… all over. The feeling exceeded surreal. He was waiting to wake up but he didn’t want to.

Then came the rulings, and for a while there was a fear that Humanity’s Last Hope would be killed, now that hope wasn’t needed. But all it took was a couple of nudges from the Survey Corps higher up, those who debated on behalf of Eren are not to be named but are already known, and he was spared. Reiner, Bertholdt, Ymir- they were all spared.

They thought is was mercy. But sometimes just because the higher ups grant you mercy, doesn’t mean the people will. Ymir was, of course, saved. She became right hand to the queen, and that granted her immunity and asylum from the townspeople who wanted the titans dead, _all_ of the titans. Even those who were human.

Annie disappeared one night. When the news had reached Eren, he knew she must have run off. He was living with Mikasa and Armin in their home once again, in Shiganshina, working hard to rebuild the home that was destroyed so long ago. The chaos had not spread there. So it seemed logical that Annie would have left.

Then Reiner and Bertholdt disappeared, together. Eren gave this one little thought as well, but that was before a warning arrived at his door. It told him to run now, and, even more shockingly, it was a notice of Reiner’s death. Of course Eren was shaken, but he didn’t believe it still. 

But then the riots started. They wanted to reform the Survey Corp, two years disbanded by then, to track down the two titans who had gotten away, and kill the one residing within their walls. Eren was disturbed, Mikasa and Armin knew that it would only be a matter of time before the protests became violent. They prepared to leave, but they didn’t prepare fast enough.

Eren woke up to the smell of smoke. Someone had set his house on fire. He threw on the old Survey Corps cloak hanging in his closet, untouched for the past two years, and started running. He debated going to Armin’s, or even Mikasa’s, home. But how could he put them in danger?

That was the first of many cold nights spent sleeping with one eye open on the streets. And it only got worse as time went on. He couldn’t beg for food, everybody knew the face of the boy who wasn’t even human. He didn’t see Armin or Mikasa after that. He went to their houses, briefly, to see where they were. But both were gone, and in their places were ashes and paint splattered over broken doorways.

So it began, those who were labeled as rebels, the supporters of the three remaining titan shifters, and those who thought themselves a public army. They became violent, and paranoid, neighbor turned on neighbor. Accusations of one person being a titan were made and people were strung up by their necks in the town square. They were stabbed with knives in public parks, children thought to be titan prodigies were drowned in the rivers. And a cry rang out among the city, “ _Bring us the shifters!_ ” Conspiracy theorists thought that the government was giving the four remaining shifters refuge. Queen Reiss was known titan sympathizer, and the people took this as a call to action. A coup d’etat was formed, an assassination was plotted and carried out. The Queen survived by going on the run, but Commander Dot Pixis was killed in the attempt.

The government dissolved into war sections again, and soon it was the regiment versus the people. Eren watched his city set aflame again, but this time by those he tried to protect. It was this that broke him, turned him into a shell of who he once was. He became a wanderer, a walking skeleton that shifted from district to district, watching the city eat itself alive. He watched the people wash the streets with blood and bone. And it was in this state, wandering, lost, feeling hopeless as ever, that he was found by someone.

He was laying in an alleyway, the riots had subsided with the sun and a pitch darkness was settling over him in a blanket of familiarity. That was when someone stopped in front of him, and said something he hadn’t heard in a long time. They called his name.

Eren looked up, and he met steely grey eyes that he’d last seen three years ago by then. Eyes that had smiled at him once, but now just looked at him with a sad kind of pity. Halfheartedly, half-joking, Eren asked if Levi was there to kill him. But his ex superior had just scoffed and told Eren to leave the shitty jokes to an old corporal.

Levi took Eren in, he gave him a bed in his home and food on his plate. It was the first time Eren had slept in a bed in a year. He spent a month like that, recovering, realizing how weak he was and trying to regain the fire that had once pushed him to fight. He also spent time talking, and at first his voice was raw from having been silent for so long. But once Levi got him talking, Eren realized he had so much to say.

And Levi let him talk. He would respond when asked and interject when needed, but he mainly just let Eren familiarize himself with the sound of his own voice. It started out talking about the rebellion, how Historia was and whether or not Ymir was still alive, she was. Armin and Mikasa, Eren learned, had joined the royal army, and were currently defending Historia outside of the walls. Ironically, so were the most of the 104th. Eren started sobbing then, and that was another nostalgic action, because the last time he’d sobbed was when he saw his friend’s houses reduced to ash. But then they started talking about trivialities, life and foods, things they’d explored since the end of the war, Eren asked if Levi’d settled down yet. Levi responded that he hadn’t really, he didn’t know where he was supposed to go anymore, so he just used the royalties granted to him from his time in the army to explore the rest of the walls. He’d spent plenty of time outside, but not enough seeing what was really in his home. For three months, three blissful months, Eren forgot about the war.

But he wasn’t the only one targeted, those who sympathized him were to be victimized as well. Levi was one of those. People tried to ransack his home when Levi was out, they were expecting valuables, what they found was one of the missing titans. Levi told Eren that they had to move after that. But they were never quite as free as they had been for those three beautiful months. They spent days, even weeks, running from one district to another. Trying to stay safe and keep each other safe. Eren found it was much easier to survive with someone watching your back. But also much more worrying, whenever they were split up in some crowd or chaos, Eren’s thoughts immediately went to their darkest crevices. Levi’s did too, but he never admitted it, he wasn’t as expressive as Eren. Who would capture Levi in a warm hug when they found each other by the end of the day, just so happy he hadn’t been hurt.

Four months later, they found a small village that was separate from the larger part of the districts, it deliberately separated itself from the riots. They bought a home, and settled back into peace. Eren worked in physical labor, they didn’t recognize him there, and Levi helped out with odd jobs around time. They made a life together, somehow, without meaning to, they became attached.

Levi was the one who realized it first. When he came home one day, and found that Eren had made a special dinner, when Levi asked why, Eren told him it had been a year since Levi’d rescued him from the streets, and he wanted to thank him in some way. It was then, with Eren covered in flour, his skin tanned from spending days outside, and his eyes bright again because they weren’t being watched at every corner, that Levi realized he’d fallen in love.

But that may have been even scarier than the revolts. Because he knew he couldn’t tell Eren, for what if Eren didn’t reciprocate his feelings? Would he leave? Where would he leave to? And what would Levi even do, on the offhand chance, that Eren did feel the same?

So he never spoke of it, and he tried his best to continue their normal life. But Eren started to notice things, notice the way Levi looked at him differently; the way he carefully, delicately patched up the cuts and bruises that Eren would get when something went wrong in his work. He also began to notice the way he felt when Levi acted this way, he felt warm, and happy. Happier than he’d been even rediscovering his own voice. Eren didn’t know what it was, but he wasn’t as reserved as Levi, nor as patient, he wanted to tell Levi. But he wasn’t sure how. All he knew is that Levi made him happy, inexplicably, extraordinarily happy. Happier than he thought he’d ever be allowed to be.

And that’s what he said, when he came home from work late because something minor had gone wrong and set back the project until dark. When Levi was still awake, waiting for him to get back because he was, even if he didn’t directly say so, worried that something had happened. That’s when Eren told him. He said that he cared about Levi, more than he probably should. That he didn’t know he’d ever be able to feel like this, but somehow, in someway, Levi’s given him the chance to. That he doesn’t want to let him go, and he can’t explain why, but he knows that Levi makes him happy, happy enough that he can almost forget about the hell he thought he escaped, only to be thrust back in years later.

That was their first kiss. The first of many. It was hesitantly started by Levi, and continued on by Eren. It was sweet and gentle and filled with a shared sadness, but it led to a sincere happiness.

There was two more years spent like that. Years filled with happy days and joyful nights, days where they grew closer. Where they fought but would eventually reconcile and their bond would only grow stronger until it felt like they were physically connected at some points. Careful precaution became a daring passion and then an unfamiliar territory that brought the two together. It was during the first year that they learned what to call this uncharted land, love. Love. It became their name for each other. Love. It was a beautiful word.

But two years were all they were allowed. It started when a carriage full of injured people came from the main district. The revolt had only gotten bloodier, the most recent body count was nearing twenty thousand on the side of the matriarchy and surpassing forty thousand civilians. Levi and Eren took precaution to avoid these visitors while they stayed in town. Taking sick days and trying their best to avoid careful eye contact. They knew they should have left, but they didn’t want to. They’d found happiness, and they didn’t want to risk losing it. Yet either way was a gamble. Sadly they chose wrong.

Of course Eren was recognized, his name and then his face. The venom was quick to poison the community, and it was during work that someone tried to stab Eren. They near succeeded, had he not tripped on a rock the knife would have found a new home in his neck.

They left quickly after that. But where could they go?

They went back to wandering. It was miserable, to have security and freedom ripped from their grasps for a second time, third for Eren. But this time it was happier. They had each other, and they knew how to survive. Their bond was strong enough that it not only survived the strain of running, but even lightened their load.

That was when Bertholdt was caught. And they were witness to the bloody celebration. He was found scavenging outside of the walls. And killed by a group of civilians. Eren and Levi had just been passing through when they stumbled upon the parade. Five different villagers were waving around high perched trophies surrounded by colorful flags. Perched atop the podiums, still fresh and dripping, their scent making Eren sick to his stomach, were familiar limbs. All followed up by the head of a friend.

They left quickly after that. And that night was spent outside of the town, away from any specific district, in the trees between the towns. Eren was sobbing, and he felt like vomiting into the ground. Levi hugged him close, offering what comfort he could. But the image of the horrid display was ingrained into both of their minds. They decided that night to leave the walls. But the night was spent together, with Eren curled up in Levi’s arms, listening to the sound of his heartbeat. Trying, desperately trying, to remind himself that he was still alive, that they were both still alive, and they weren’t doomed to the same fate as someone he’d once called a friend.

The next day, they stole horses from a ranch, it was a quick journey outside the walls after that. They didn’t have much to carry with them, and after the threat of the titans had been eliminated the gates were no longer closed. Once they were safe, they knew where they had to go. They set course for the rest of the 104th, still guarding Queen Historia.

They didn’t know if they’d stay there. Maybe they’d help others fight against the revolts. Truthfully, Eren just wanted to see his friends again, to prove to himself that they were still alive and well. But after that… who knows? Maybe they’d help fight, maybe they’d go as far away from the conflict as they could manage. If nothing else, it would give Levi a chance to say goodbye to Hanji and Erwin, and Eren a chance to hug Mikasa and Armin one last time.

They had no idea, but they knew that they’d stay together no matter what they ended up deciding. Sometimes, in his darker moments during their trip, Eren wondered why Levi and the others didn’t just kill him and the other shifters when they’d had the chance. He expected Levi to reprimand him for asking such a thing, should he ever. But Eren had to know, so one night he asked Levi.

Levi stared at him, and Eren saw sadness creep into the edges of steel eyes. Levi didn’t scold Eren, he didn’t ask why he was thinking such a thing, all he said was,

“We thought it was mercy.”

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this has been an adventure. I've never written canon-verse before. SO, tell me what you think, eh?
> 
> Inspired by [this song.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0BDS0-ZwOw)
> 
> Comments and Kudos are greatly appreciated!


End file.
